Pretty interesting question, I know, but one I felt like was worth a post. I’m pretty certain that everyone initially said “uh, yeah – why wouldn’t I be?”, but is that 100% the truth? Looking at what media, society, even our own culture has shown us, I can understand if you hesitate to answer that confidently.
I can recall being a young girl and I would love being outside all day in the sun, literally have the best of times and family members (females at that) would tell me, “Don’t be in the sun all day – you’ll just get darker”. As a child, I did not associate being darker as a bad thing, I mean after all I would see white people outside tanning to get darker so at that age I thought being dark was what everyone wanted until that comment was made. From that comment and until around freshmen year of undergrad, I found myself avoiding outside activities, being secretly envious of my light skin friends, and consistently wondering why girls that looked like me where never on TV.
But suddenly something happened, I went to an HBCU (The Winston-Salem State University, to be exact) and I was surrounded by all different shades of beauty, shapes and sizes, backgrounds, and walks of life. Don’t get me wrong, it was not just school that made me change my perspective – it was being exposed to people that had the same background, same experiences, and could use the same hair / make-up products as me. There is so much value in seeing positive representation of yourself and that is what college was able to do for me and what I hope this blog will do for others. My goal is that it will allow us to go to a place that shows us in a positive, inspirational light, where we can share insights, where I can share my personal stories, discuss world issues, and let all women know that we are beautiful. Other women can see themselves on TV shows, movies, magazines, and commercials which is amazing that they can be represented - but it is time for us to do the same for ourselves.
Love, Brown Girl
“Self-confidence is the most attractive quality a person can have. How can anyone see how great you are if you can’t see it yourself?” - Unknown